The Illinois Fighting Illini simply obliterated the Monmouth Hawks in their third game of the season
It wasn’t a game from the start, as the Illini hung 103 points on Monmouth to cruise to a 38-point victory. They made sure to not get off to a terrible start as they did against Kansas City. They came out with 8 points in the first 50 seconds of the game. I know that they have played lesser opponents to start the season, but it’s nice to see them dominate all three and have a 3-0 record to start the season.
The Good Things
They did a lot of things well, it’s hard to narrow it down to a few key stats, but I’ll do my best.
- Key Stats
- 40 Points in the Paint, 30 Points off Turnovers
- 59.7% from the field (37-62)
- 35-21 rebounding advantage
- 9 combined threes from Shannon Jr. and Epps
A couple of phenomenal performances from Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jayden Epps. They were tremendous from the field and carried the offensive load, scoring nearly half of the team’s points. It didn’t feel like they overwhelmed the Hawks that much on the glass, but the numbers say otherwise. The Illini were able to take the game over with size, athleticism, and scoring. It’s a bit of a different story on the defensive end.
The Bad Things
They will watch the tape of this game and be disappointed with their defensive effort. Monmouth was killing them by running the floor and the Illini weren’t getting back fast enough on defense. However, these are correctable issues moving forward, they just have to commit to it more.
- Key Stats
- Allowed 65 points (Monmouth was averaging 47 PPG in the first two games)
- 18 turnovers (a bit too many)
- Hawkins and Mayer: 2-for-10 from the field
- 23 personal fouls (2 more than Monmouth)
As I mentioned above, their defensive issues were obvious in this game, but it’s not a long-term concern. They got a bit careless with the basketball, but I’m not worried about that as something that could blow a game for them down the road. It’s been an uneven start for both Coleman Hawkins and Matthew Mayer, and it was especially ugly for Hawkins tonight. They will both figure it out, I’m confident in that.
Three Studs of the Game
Stud #3 – G Skyy Clark (Illini) – 7 points, 2-2 FG, 1-1 3pt, 6 assists
His numbers weren’t off the charts, but Clark was super efficient and solid in this game. He was under control and made good decisions with the ball, that’s all you can ask for in a freshman point guard.
Stud #2 – G Jayden Epps (Illini) – 21 points, 8-12 FG, 5-9 3pt, 1 assist, 1 steal
It was another brilliant performance from the freshman Epps. With back-to-back tremendous games for him, we are seeing a more dynamic player than expected already for Epps. He’s not just a shooter, he did a lot more than that tonight, but his shooting numbers were off the charts.
Stud #1 – G Terrence Shannon Jr. – 30 points, 9-14 FG, 4-9 3pt, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
The top stud of the game had to be Shannon Jr. He was fantastic tonight with an easy 30 points. He’s been super efficient on both ends of the floor through three games this season (he has zero fouls total!). If you didn’t know it already, it feels like Shannon Jr. is the GUY for this team. They’re going to call on him when they need to make something happen.
Onto the Next One
Next up for the Illini: Friday, November 18th vs. #8 UCLA (8:30 PM CST, ESPNU) (Continental Tire Main Event)
Now that the first three games are over, the Illini head to Las Vegas for two huge games. We are going to learn a lot more about this team when they take on UCLA Friday and then one of Baylor/Virginia after that. I’m super interested to see how this team comes out with a lot more eyes on them against a super-talented UCLA team.
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